Change the world with entertainment with Yokai Girl

"Xiaojing, go ahead without worry!" Jiazi said with a smile, holding a banana in one hand.

Two hours before the play begins, the teachers are busy preparing, while the children are free to roam in this area before being notified to assemble, either playing together or with their parents.

When Qin Jing stepped out of the tent, the first people she encountered were Emma Miyazawa and her underlings. They were rehearsing their lines, especially Emma Miyazawa, who seemed completely absorbed in the role. This girl, who didn't particularly like herself, was always very serious and hardworking, adhering to the belief that if you're going to do something, you have to do it to the best of your ability.

"As expected of Miyazawa-neechan." Qin Jing smiled, thinking that there was no need to disturb this hardworking girl, and walked towards the others.

As you walk forward, you see the Spring Plain rising and falling rapidly, one high and one low.

"Are you alright, Sunohara?" Shizuka asked.

"It's nothing! I'm just super excited! In a little while, my time is coming. I'll be on TV, become famous quickly, then talent scouts will come knocking on my door, I'll debut, win the Best Newcomer Award, and become a big star. Just thinking about it makes my legs shake uncontrollably!"

"Make sure your warm-up is moderate, so you don't run out of energy when you go on stage," Qin Jing reminded her.

"Oh!"

Without disturbing Chun Yuan any longer, Qin Jing continued forward.

Dressed in a beautiful princess dress and wearing a gorgeous crown, Xiao Lin really looks like a princess from some country. At this moment, she is holding the hem of her skirt and standing still.

"Is Xiao Lin alright?" Qin Jing asked with concern.

"Hmph! Of course! Don't worry, Xiaojing, I'm not nervous at all!" Upon seeing the person who came, Xiaolin suddenly blushed, turned her head away angrily, and ran away, lifting her skirt.

"I'm sorry, Jing, my sister is just nervous," Xiaoying said as she walked over.

"Really? Sakura, you should do your best too. I'm going to check on the others. See you later."

"Thank you, see you later." Sakura smiled and waved to Shizuka.

Sure enough, I saw other children standing together, looking very uncomfortable. They were still nervous, as expected. Seriously, they need to show some of their usual lively, mischievous side!

"Hey everyone, how's everyone doing?"

"Xiao Jing..."

“Jingjun…”

"What should I do? My heart is pounding so hard, I just can't stop it..."

"Have we caught some kind of disease?"

"It's okay! If you're still nervous, just draw the character '人' on your palm, swallow it, hold your breath, and walk onto the stage. You'll feel fine after that." Qin Jing demonstrated by writing the character "人" on her palm. "Yeah, that way you won't be nervous at all."

“Let’s draw too.” The other children, seeing Jing’s demonstration, seemed to calm down and said to their friends.

"Let's eat people too!" several girls said.

"It's the character for 'person'... Don't make it sound so scary," Qin Jing complained.

"I want to eat the character '人' (person) that Jing wrote, hehehe," Hanako mumbled, letting out a low laugh.

"Your idea is even more terrifying!" Qin Jing complained. Lately, he was increasingly unable to understand this child.

"Is this the kind of personality the Hanako we know?" The girls around them exchanged puzzled glances.

After the teachers who went to install the sound and lighting equipment returned, the actors changed into their costumes and waited backstage for their turn to go on stage.

Once they put on the costumes, it felt like they had transformed. The children were all excited and eager to try it out, as if their previous nervousness had been completely unfounded.

Now it's time for Da Lu, the owner of the bakery, to perform. He's playing the guitar and singing Teresa Teng's "Let Time Fly By." The song is almost over, which has drawn continuous applause from the audience.

"Thank you! Thank you everyone! Please continue to support us in the future. My pastries are super delicious!" Ooji, not forgetting to make a provocative gesture to the Japanese confectionery owner, walked off the stage with a smug smile.

The logistics staff reminded everyone, "The next program is about to begin, Sunflower Kindergarten, please get ready."

Emma Miyazawa, with her hair tied up in a topknot, a headscarf printed with peaches, and a samurai sword in her hand, raises her fist.

The children instinctively raised their fists in unison, echoing each other's gestures.

"Let's all do our best! Just perform like we did in rehearsals!"

"Oh oh oh!"

The play has officially begun!

Legend has it that when the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, stole the peaches of immortality, he carelessly tossed them aside. One peach fell into the Milky Way and landed on Earth.

As the background music began and the Little Knife Society overture started, Jing waved to Jiazi, and a monkey wearing golden armor and a flower feather headdress jumped onto the stage, carrying a long staff. It did a series of somersaults, spinning 720 degrees in the air and performing various difficult moves. With Jiazi's physical abilities, these were all easy for her.

"Oh! Sun Wukong has appeared!"

The dazzling moves, coupled with the rousing music, were truly spectacular, leaving the audience thoroughly entertained.

"Great! Great!"

"That was a great jump!"

At this moment, the heavenly soldiers and generals arrived. Finally, Sun Wukong threw the peaches of immortality, leaped into the air, and landed backstage where he squatted motionless, disappearing from the stage as the curtain fell.

The background music changes to a light, cheerful tune, and the narration begins again. The actors enter.

A peach fell from the sky, drifted on the sea, and eventually floated to a small village.

An elderly couple lived in the village. One day, the old woman was washing clothes by the river when she saw a large peach floating downstream.

The old woman took the peach home, cut it open, and found a small child lying inside.

[Miyazawa Emma, ​​who plays Momotaro, jumps out of a peach, and the old man names him 'Momotaro'.]

As the story unfolds, villagers spread the news that a terrifying ghost has appeared on the island.

The villagers told Momotaro that the island used to be inhabited only by kind villagers, but one day a demon suddenly came down from the mountain, destroyed the fields, and kidnapped the king's princess.

The official pleaded, "The princess's family has already received the precious clothes they bought from the Tang Dynasty. The island lord, who went abroad for pilgrimage, is on his way back. Please do your utmost to rescue the princess."

Emma Miyazawa raised her katana and declared with righteous indignation, "Grandpa and Grandma, I'm going to slay that evil demon and save the kind villagers!"

"Oh, this kid is really good at acting."

"The majestic Momotaro!"

Grandma made some delicious mochi for Momotaro to take on his journey. So Momotaro set off on his way.

That's when the dog comes in!

"Wang Wang!"

"Haha, it's a real dog!"

Momotaro gave the dog food, and the dog became his friend.

The dog stood up and started dancing with Momotaro.

They worked together to defeat the bandits who were blocking their way.

Finally, the dog lay down and let Momotaro sit on it.

The dog, carrying Momotaro on its back, launched a charge, leaping and performing a spectacular show comparable to the monkey's earlier juggling act.

"Oh! What a clever dog!"

"It's like watching a circus!"

Seeing the audience's positive reaction, Qin Jing nodded in satisfaction. This performance was the result of numerous rehearsals. Undoubtedly, the dog was the biggest highlight of the Momotaro arc. The goal was to use his intelligence and the boundless kindness hidden in his small eyes to win over the audience. As long as there were enough surprises, even if the children's acting wasn't perfect in other aspects, the audience would accept it.

Backstage, Yoshiko was nowhere to be seen changing her clothes.

In addition to playing the Monkey King, Yoshiko also plays the role of a wild monkey. She already wears the monkey costume underneath her costume. She removes the flower feathers, takes off the colorful paper armor, and then puts on big ears, a belt, and a tail, and she can go on stage directly.

So Qin Jing retrieved the ears and tail, found Jiazi squatting on the backstage steps, and reminded her, "Hey, Jiazi-sensei, it's almost your turn to go on stage."

"Wait a minute..." Yoshiko had been squatting there ever since she left the field, and she answered painfully at this moment.

"What's wrong?" Jing asked, puzzled.

“Banana ate too much,” Yoshiko said, frowning.

"Did you eat all the Bananas on the table?"

"I feel like it's about to come out," Yoshiko said.

"What are you doing out here! Are you a child?! Don't come out! Get to the toilet right now!" Jing said frantically.

"No! I want to perform! Even if I have to pull it out, I still want to go on stage! This is the promise between Teacher and you, Xiaojing!" Jiazi said with unwavering determination.

"Ah, that agreement is now null and void. The stage doesn't need a dirty actor like you anymore. You should just go to the toilet." Qin Jing hid her tail and ears behind her back and retreated in disgust.

Jiazi was still unwilling to give up. Veins bulged on her face as she snarled her true intentions, "I want to be scouted by a talent agent and become a star! They say the money you can earn in a year is enough to buy dozens of classrooms full of high-grade bananas. Jing! For the sake of my bananas for the rest of my life, give me the props now!"

"Did you hear what Chun Yuan said? Don't believe him! No talent scouts are coming! Go to the bathroom!" Qin Jing took two steps back again.

"Xiaojing, don't try to fool me. I saw a guy with super professional camera equipment when I was doing my somersault. Don't think that just because you're cute you're the only one who gets noticed! I'll definitely attract more attention than you when I go on stage!"

"I don't think so at all. And... the very professional cameraman you mentioned should be my dad," Qin Jing said helplessly.

"You're lying! Have you already been chosen? There are a lot of people around with cameras, talent scouts must have come!" Jiazi said firmly, covering her buttocks as she moved closer to Qin Jing.

"Ms. Jiazi...why don't you go to the restroom first? I'll arrange for you to go on stage later, okay? You might not think it's a big deal, but the party, the kindergarten, and even your family could be ruined because of this." Just thinking about the consequences was too terrifying, Qin Jing tried her best to persuade her while backing away.

"Don't try to persuade me! As long as I can become a big star, I'm not afraid of any hardship, fatigue, dirt, or stench!" Jiazi said resolutely. Her stomach rumbled again.

"No... even if you're not afraid, we can't stand it! The grandpas and grandmas can't stand it either!" Qin Jing continued to back away, but there were so many people in the troupe, children inside and outside the class, parents and teachers, all working together to complete this masterpiece. We couldn't let the monkey ruin it.

"Then I'll hold it in! I'll stand up now!" Yoshiko took a deep breath, fighting against her body's instincts, and suddenly stood up.

"Please, teacher! Don't do anything reckless, or you might lose the encouragement award to Banana too." Qin Jing was driven to a corner.

"I'm going to be a star, and Banana is no match for me! Give me your ears and tail!!" Yoshiko's eyes showed a look of determination, veins bulging on her forehead as she gathered her strength and roared as she pounced.

"Don't come any closer!!" Qin Jing cried out in anguish.

Yoshiko grabbed the monkey's tail. "Let go! Shizuka! Do you think you, a weak little kid like you, are stronger than your teacher?!"

"I won't let go! This is everyone's dream!" Qin Jing used all her strength, gripping the monkey's tail tightly with both hands, her body leaning backward as if she were about to fall to the ground.

He has to protect it, whether it's the elderly's festival or their film crew's dream!

No sooner said than done, a figure suddenly appeared behind Yoshiko, raised a hand and swung it down with all his might at her neck without any mercy.

"Ugh!!!" Yoshiko screamed and fainted.

"I'm here to take this guy home..." The man who came was a tall man with a bitter face. He said this coldly to Qin Jing, then picked up Jiazi and left.

Like someone who had survived a disaster, Qin Jing collapsed to the ground. He had protected everyone's dreams.

Qin Jing knew that the man's name was Akutsu Akira. In class, Ms. Yoshiko often showed off his photo, saying that she had a fiancé who loved her deeply.

I vaguely remember reading something like this: when a person is unconscious, the tense muscles in their body relax, meaning the tightly closed muscles loosen up...

Is this the true love described in books? This man is a true warrior!

Jing couldn't help but recall a saying that had never existed in this world: "A true hero dares to face the bleakness of life and the dripping blood."

"Mr. Akutsu!" Qin Jing's eyes were filled with respect as she watched the man's departing figure.

"Why was Ms. Yoshiko taken away? Is that her fiancé?" Rin asked curiously as she walked over after hearing the noise.

"Yes, that's a true hero! Ms. Jiazi did her best, so let them go. Now let's think of a solution. Follow me!" Qin Jing said, clenching her fist.

"Why have you suddenly become so passionate?" Rin tilted her head in confusion.

"We need to find someone to play the monkey. All the acrobatic moves are to be abandoned. All we need to do is know the routine. Do you have any candidates?" Director Jing asked the children around her.

"..." The children around them were all dressed in their own costumes, looking at each other, and then all turned their gazes to Qin Jing.

Qin Jing nodded and said helplessly, "Yes, I'm the only one who can do it."

Section 22, Curtain Call of the Dramatic Performance

During this time, Miyazawa interacted with the dog to buy time, but it couldn't last long, so Qin Jing put on the monkey ears and tail she had desperately saved and rushed onto the stage.

'Abandon shame, all for art; Shakespeare is with me.'

Shakespeare, a pinnacle of Western literature and the crown of drama, almost single-handedly transformed drama from a troupe entertaining the masses into a literary master of art during the Renaissance. His plays perfectly combined relatable everyday life with poetic philosophy, bringing art into the folk and artisticizing folk tales, creating many classic plays that are still popular today, and changing the then-prevailing perception of English as vulgar and lowly.

His plays pioneered a wide range of genres, including fantasy, play-within-a-play, love triangles, NTR, transgender, body swapping, gay/lesbian relationships, yaoi/fujoshi (female fans of male-male romance), ghost mothers, and incest, developing all sorts of tropes.

Qin Jing is far from being able to reach that level; all he can do is bring joy to the audience.

Standing backstage, Qin Jing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and imagined how the little monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain lived, imagined their admiration for the stone monkey who fearlessly jumped into the waterfall, imagined how they would follow the Great Sage Equaling Heaven to conquer the demon realm... and now she was being sent by the Great Sage to find the peaches that had fallen to the mortal world.

To maintain consistency with the dog, all of Momotaro's animal companions are non-speaking. The dog is the signature pet actor, while the monkey is the highlight that attracts attention with its comedic antics.

However, now she can only play a mischievous character to amuse the audience; Qin Jing, with her literary background, simply cannot pull off the actions of Teacher Monkey. Although Qin Jing doesn't usually joke around, when performing on stage, she has no choice but to do it, and once she's prepared, she finds herself surprisingly uninhibited.